


Second Meetings, Second Chances

by blondsak



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Awesome Ben Parker, Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), Ben Parker Lives, Crack Treated Seriously, F/M, Fluff, Humor, M/M, No editing we die like mne, Not irondad but irondad adjacent, Tony Stark Has A Heart, canon is the one ring and I am the fellowship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24754144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blondsak/pseuds/blondsak
Summary: Tony comes face-to-face with a few old acquaintances when he visits Peter Parker’s apartment for the first time.
Relationships: Ben Parker & Tony Stark, Ben Parker/May Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark, past Ben Parker/Tony Stark, past May Parker/Tony Stark - Relationship
Comments: 58
Kudos: 256





	Second Meetings, Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> Any and all blame for this fic goes to Gruoch, SpideyFics, and seekrest. Y'all are the worst enablers and I adore you <3 <3 <3

Walking up the stairs of Peter Parker’s apartment building, Tony can’t help but feel that this is exactly the kind of place he would have expected to find Spider-Man. After all, the vigilante wasn’t shy about proclaiming that he was first and foremost a “friendly neighborhood kinda guy,” and living in the heart of a middle-class neighborhood in Queens - the borough he most frequently haunted - certainly fit the bill.

What he hadn’t expected was that Spider-Man was only fourteen years old, and - perhaps more surprisingly - a teenager with a supportive, happy home life. After all, vigilantism - hell, taking on the superhero role in general - didn’t really jive with being an emotionally healthy, well-rounded person who valued their continued existence.

But according to the short biographical file FRIDAY had compiled, Peter was precisely that: an emotionally healthy, well-rounded kid with an adoring aunt and uncle who took wonderful care of him. Not to mention one who also happened to be incredibly smart, attending one of the best STEM high schools in the city.

Why in the world the kid would go out and risk his life day in and day out the last three months Tony still hadn’t quite deduced, but he was willing to bet a cool million that May and Ben Parker had no idea about their nephew’s newest after-school curricular. 

Which is why, as he knocked on their front door, Tony had an impressive lie all ready to go. Peter was the recipient of a new grant from SI’s September Foundation. Tony was there to surprise him with the information and then - _with and only with your express permission, Mr. and Mrs. Parker_ \- to whisk him away for the rest of the week to the grant’s annual Future STEM Leaders of America program at the compound upstate. Why _yes,_ other teenagers were participating. Why _yes,_ it was all expenses included. Why _yes,_ Peter would be able to put it on his college applications-- Tony would even throw in a personal recommendation letter if it went well!

It was a perfect cover story, one designed to ensure that Tony would get zero pushback.

But he hadn’t even gotten past saying “Good afternoon, Mrs. Parker” before the woman let out a long groan, poking her head out past Tony to glance down the hall and quickly ushering him inside.

“Make it quick, Stark,” Mrs. Parker says by way of greeting. “My husband and nephew are going be home very soon and I am not interested in explaining your presence to either of them.”

“I...” Tony says, caught off guard. “I beg your pardon?”

“Oh, don’t pretend like I don’t know why you’re here,” Mrs. Parker says, scoffing. “I’ve seen the tabloids speculating about your sobriety. Though if you don’t mind me saying, I can’t even imagine how long your Step Nine list is if you’ve included me. Don’t get me wrong, it was a fun night, but it’s not like I didn’t know your reputation. Believe me, I never expected anything more out of it.”

Tony quirks an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, have we met before?”

Mrs. Parker blinks at him in confusion, jaw falling open as she says, “You’re not here for me?”

Tony shakes his head. “No, I was here to discuss a grant program headed by one of my foundations, a grant which your nephew applied to and was accepted for.”

Mrs. Parker blinks again a few times, sputtering as she says, “Oh. Oh, uh… why don’t you sit down and I’ll, uh, I’ll get some date loaf and coffee. You like coffee? We’re out of milk - my husband is picking some up on his way home - but I think we have creamer around--”

“Just black is fine,” Tony says with a smile, making his way to the couch. He watches her as she flutters about the kitchen, trying to place her. It’s not until she leans into the fridge to pull the date loaf out and Tony gets to see her from a very _particular_ angle that it comes to him.

“Wait, wait, I know now. Halloween ‘92, Miami Beach, right?”

Mrs. Parker laughs as she twists around, walking over and setting the plate down in front of him. 

“Orlando, and it was 1993,” she says with a smirk. “I guess I should be flattered you got the state right, at least.”

“Oh I remember more than that, Miss _Terminator 2_ -era Sarah Connors,” Tony says with a flirtatious wink. “If I may be permitted to wax nostalgic for a moment, those black cargo pants really--”

“You may not, Stark,” Mrs. Parker says sharply, narrowing her eyes at him before rolling them playfully, adding, “And please, call me May. ‘Mrs. Parker’ just makes me feel old.”

She goes to grab the mugs of coffee, handing one to Tony before sitting down on the other side of the couch, pulling out her phone for just a moment before pocketing it again. “My husband just picked up the milk from the local bodega. Before he gets here, can I ask that you not mention that we’ve met before? Ben, he’s… not exactly your biggest fan.”

“My lips are sealed,” Tony says, taking a bite of the date loaf-- holding back a grimace at the taste and forcing himself to swallow it down. “And don’t worry, I’ve dealt with my share of detractors-- many of whom I’ve come to agree with, I should add.”

“Well, I can safely say at least that Peter isn’t among them,” May says with a smile. “He loved Iron Man even before you announced that you were one and the same.”

Tony grins. “A fan, eh?”

“A big one,” May says-- setting down her mug and walking over to the bookcase, before selecting a photo album and coming to sit back down again. She flips through it for a minute or two until finally stopping, pulling out a photo as she says, “We even took him to the Expo in 2010, bought him one of those overpriced toy mask and glove sets.”

She hands over the photo, Tony smirking as he takes it in hand-- only for his eyes to go wide, upturned lips dropping as he takes in not the little, grinning kid with his arm stretched out and holding a fake gauntlet up toward the camera, but instead the handsome man smiling next to him.

Because Tony knows that face. Oh god, he knows _more_ than that face. He knows--

“This is your husband?” he asks mildly, May nodding. 

“That’s my Ben,” she says with a fond smile. “He has the patented Parker streak of being too good for his own good sometimes, but it’s also what I love most about him, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I know,” Tony says perhaps a little too forcefully, choking down another sip of coffee before handing the photo back quickly and standing up. “Listen, I’m afraid I forgot I had another appointment this afternoon. If you don’t mind, perhaps we could reschedule?”

May cocks her head, staring at him for a few moments before setting down her coffee and standing up. “Of course. Uh, when would--”

“I’ll have my AI contact you to set something up,” Tony says, shooting her a tense grin and throwing on his sunglasses as he walks past her, heading straight for the door. “Thank you so much for the date loaf and coffee, and it was so nice to meet - uh, to see you again - but I really do have to--”

Before he can turn the doorknob he hears a key, jumping back just in time to keep his nose from getting smashed in by the door only to collide with Ben Parker-- the brown paper bag in his arms dropping to the floor, a gallon of milk and a bunch of bananas falling out. 

Ben immediately drops to his knees, hastily gathering the grocery items and tossing them back into the bag-- only glancing back up once he’s getting back to his feet.

“Oh god, I’m sorry, I-- what the _hell_ are you doing here?”

“Hello, Mr. Parker,” Tony says, fighting the urge to race past the man. This is easily the most awkward situation he’s been in since the Australian Triplets Incident of 2005. 

But Ben stands between him and glorious escape, glaring at Tony furiously as he says, “Answer my question, Tony. What the hell are you doing in my home?”

Tony holds his hands up. “In my defense, I had no idea until just two minutes ago that ‘Benny from Brooklyn’ and ‘Ben Parker, Peter Parker’s uncle’ were the same person.”

“What-- what does Peter have to do with this?” Ben asks, before shaking his head, voice low as he says, “If you’ve come here to get my forgiveness, you’re about twenty-three years too late.”

“Don’t tell me that was _also_ in ‘93,” Tony says, grimacing. “God, I knew I was a messy bastard back then, but--”

“Excuse me, but you two know each other too?” May asks, both men turning and looking over at her in surprise-- Tony having nearly forgotten she was there. 

“What do you mean, _know each other too_? How do you guys know each other in the first place?” Ben asks after a beat, glancing between the two of them-- only for his jaw to drop when May’s face goes bright red. “You mean, you two have--”

“Bumped uglies?” Tony chimes in, Ben moaning at the euphemism. “‘Fraid so.”

“God, you’re still just as crass as you were at twenty-two. I should have known back then you’d--”

“Wait a second,” May interjects. “Okay, first off, yes, Ben-- Tony and I had a one-night stand back before I met you. I never told you because even from our first date it was obvious you had major issues with everything to do with him, and also because it really meant nothing, even at the time. Now how do _you_ two know each other?”

Ben looks at Tony pleadingly, Tony shrugging helplessly in response. Ben bites his lip nervously, turning back to May and saying, “Uh, we too, have… bumped uglies.”

“But, you’ve only ever been with one--” May’s eyes go wide as she claps a hand to her chin, “Oh my god, you’re--”

"May, don't--"

“Mr. Bubble Butt,” May finishes, Tony blinking at her a few times before turning to Ben with a smug look.

“Glad to know at least one part of me made a good impression.”

At the look of horror on Ben’s face, May starts to laugh hysterically, clutching at her sides as she doubles over. Ben hisses at Tony, “I needed a pseudonym! I wasn’t exactly up for sharing I had my damn heart broken by world-renowned playboy Tony Stark, of all frickin’ people.”

Tony winces. “Look, Benny--”

“It’s Ben.”

“Ben, then,” he says with a sigh. “Listen, I am really sorry for just up and disappearing like I did. But you knew I was only in the city for just the week, and--”

“I did know that,” Ben admits, sighing himself-- all anger seeming to deflate out of him with it. “But I was only twenty, Tony, and you were the first guy I’d ever felt comfortable being with. Hell, that experience was the one that made me really accept my bisexuality.”

“I remember. You told me that after the first night,” Tony says quietly, Ben nodding.

“Which is why,” Ben continues slowly, “it really hurt that you ended things by leaving me to wake up alone in your fancy-ass hotel room after a week of romance and sex with nothing but a note that said ‘You know who I am.’ And _especially_ when just the day before you’d talked about making plans to come back and see me.”

Tony grimaces. “That was-- absolutely atrocious of me, I agree. I do want you to know that I regret it-- hell, I regretted it before I even got to the airport. I just… I wasn’t in a place where I was ready to be truly vulnerable with anyone, and I didn’t want to hurt you any more than I knew I already would.”

The two stare at each other for a long moment before Ben gives him a small smile.

“I forgive you, Tony,” Ben says, then putting out his hand, “What do you say we start over? I’m Ben Parker, and this is my wife May. Welcome to our home.”

Tony takes his hand, shaking it firmly. “And I’m Tony Stark. Thanks for having me, Mr. and Mrs. Parker.”

“Aw, you two,” Mays says fondly, having been quietly listening in on their exchange. She walks over and wraps an arm around Ben, who hugs her right back. He leaves a tender kiss in her hair before turning back to Tony. 

“You know, you still haven’t told me why you’re actually here.”

Tony grins as he looks between the two Parkers, dialing the charm back up to eleven. 

“It’s about your nephew, Peter. My charity foundation has awarded him a grant to attend a three-day program for youth who excel in STEM fields at the SI compound upstate, and…”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are what feed my writing gremlin. Or come hang out with me on [tumblr](https://blondsak.tumblr.com)!


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